Amusement rides are popular diversions around the world and provide a thrilling and otherwise unattainable entertainment experience in a safe, controlled manner.
Ride designers are constantly seeking novel ways in which to safely improve the ride experience and in this process have developed a wide variety of track designs and features that distinguish one ride from another, such as: hanging roller coasters, upside down loops, corkscrew loops, stand-up roller coasters, near vertical drops, backwards travel, among any other number of ride features that offer a thrilling experience in a safe manner.
Moreover, it is often desirable to switch a ride car from a first track to a second track for a variety of reasons. In some applications, it is desirable to switch the rail car from a first track to a second track in an exciting manner that adds to the entertainment experienced by a rider.
Accordingly, there is need for a track switching element that can switch a rail vehicle from a first track to a transversely removed second track while providing a safe yet thrilling and novel ride experience.